(A)Resolved – That the Minutes of the last Court
are correctly recorded, subject to the antepenultimate bullet point
under item 7 on page 4 being amended to read:

“Noting that
private leaseholders also were responsible for the costs of
improvements, the Chairman agreed to speak with officers to see
whether any relevant communications might be sent to such
households to advise them of steps that could or should be taken in
respect of fire safety.”

(B)Resolved – That the Minutes of the special
meeting of the Court, held on 8 May 2017, are correctly
recorded.

Resolved
unanimously –That the sincere
congratulations of this Court be offered to

His
Honour, Sir Peter Ribblesdale
Thornton

Lately Chief Coroner and a former judge at the Old Bailey, on
his recent appointment by Her Majesty the Queen as a Knight
Bachelor, in recognition of his services to the Administration of
Justice and the Coroner Service.

Resolved
unanimously –That the sincere
congratulations of this Court be offered to

Asif
Sadiq, MBE

Formerly the City of London Police’s Equalities and
Diversity Officer, on his recent appointment by Her Majesty the
Queen as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British
Empire, in recognition of his services to policing and the
community in London.

Resolved
unanimously –That the sincere
congratulations of this Court be offered to

Catherine Brigid Waters, BEM

Lately Matron at the Central Criminal Court,
on her recent award by Her Majesty the Queen of the British Empire
Medal, for services to the welfare of court
users.

Prem Goyal asked a question of the Chairman of
the Finance Committee concerning expenditure on a recent dinner for
the Livery Committee.

Responding, the Chairman set out the costs of
the event and the intent behind committee dinners, including the
networking opportunities provided and the ability to educate others
about the activities and aims of the committee in question.

In reply to a supplementary question from Mr
Goyal querying whether the money might be used more usefully in
other areas, such as employability, the Chairman observed that
views as to what was the most effective use of funds were highly
subjective and varied from Member to Member; the key, therefore,
would be to strike the right balance. He also pointed to the
significant expenditure and activity that the City Corporation was
engaged in with respect to employability, observing that sums spent
on committee dinners were very small in comparison and represented
good value for money.

Livery Committee:
Public Access

Prem Goyal asked a question of the Chairman of
the Policy and Resources Committee concerning public access to
meetings of the Livery Committee.

Replying, the Chairman clarified that the
Livery Committee was not a Committee of the Court of Common Council
and was therefore not subject to the same access to information
requirements. The Chairman added that it was not within the remit
of this Court to propose amendments to the Livery Committee’s
approach; however, she suggested that the Member might wish to
speak to the Chairman of the Livery Committee in the first instance
to determine whether the Committee might be agreeable to altering
its long-standing practice in this area.

Motion - “That this
Honourable Court, reaffirming the commitment of the City of London
Corporation to the promotion of equality, diversity, and social
inclusion, commends the Chief Commoner and the Town Clerk &
Chief Executive for their response to an initiative by the
Corporation’s staff Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
(LGBT) Network to authorise the flying of the Rainbow Flag above
the Guildhall and Tower Bridge to mark Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual &
Transgender Pride in London earlier this month.

That further this Court welcomes the addition
of the City of London Corporation to the list of institutions
including Her Majesty’s Government, Her Majesty’s Armed
Forces, the United Kingdom Parliament, United Kingdom Embassies,
the Bank of England, devolved administrations and assemblies in
Scotland and Wales, the Greater London Authority, and many local
authorities, who celebrate Pride and their wider commitment to
diversity by flying the Rainbow Flag above their premises.

That this Court resolves that, in accordance
with the now established custom, and subject to any future advice
received from Her Majesty’s Government, the Rainbow Flag
should be flown above Guildhall and on other City of London
Corporation premises each year to mark Pride week in
London.”

Deputy Edward Lord and Ruby Sayed spoke in
support of the Motion.

Upon the Motion being put, the Lord Mayor
declared it to be carried, nem. con.

The Court received a report of
the Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee, advising
that the City of London Planning Department, within the Department
of the Built Environment, had been named the Local Authority
Planning Team of the Year at the recent London Planning
Awards.

In
accordance with the arrangements approved by the Court on 21 June
2001 for the approval of applications for the use of Guildhall, the
Court was informed of the following applications which had been
agreed to:-

In
2015 the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Prime
Minister David Cameron announced that, in celebration of the
70th anniversary of Indian Independence and the close
cultural ties that exist between the two countries, 2017 would be
the UK-India Year of Culture. A varied programme of literary,
sporting, dramatic and musical events had since been organised by
the Indian High Commission and Indian Government agencies to mark
this Year of Culture.

The
closing event of the Year of Culture was to be a concert taking
place at the Barbican in November and, following discussions with
the Indian High Commission, it had been proposed that the High
Commission and City Corporation jointly host a closing reception on
the evening of the concert. This reception would provide an
opportunity for the City Corporation to facilitate closer relations
with the Indian Government and strengthen ties with the Indian
community in London.

It was
therefore recommended that hospitality be granted
for a pre-concert reception with arrangements made under the
auspices of the Hospitality Working Party; the costs to be met from
City’s Cash and within the approved parameters.

The
host element would be the Hospitality Working Party and Members
with relevant interests.

Resolved– That
hospitality be granted for a pre-concert reception with
arrangements made under the auspices of the Hospitality Working
Party; the costs to be met from City’s Cash and within the
approved parameters.

The Court of Common Council was
requested to agree to amend the Terms of Reference of its Licensing
Committee to include charity collections (under the provisions of
the Police, Factories and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1916). This
was currently within the remit of the Port Health &
Environmental Services Committee, but given the Licensing
Committee’s responsibility for general licensing issues it
was felt that this matter would sit best with that
Committee.

This recommendation had the support of the Licensing Committee,
Port Health and Environmental Services Committee and the Policy and
Resources Committee and the Court was asked to grant final
approval.

Resolved– That the inclusion of charity collections,
under the Police, Factories and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1916
(or any subsequent re-enactment) in the Terms of Reference of the
Licensing Committee be approved, as set out in the appendix to the
report.

The Court considered a report setting out The
City Bridge Trust’s proposed funding strategy for 2018-23,
“Bridging Divides”.

Introducing the strategy, the Chairman
informed the Court that “Bridging Divides” was a vision
and values led strategy which would ensure that from 2018 to 2023
all of the work that The City Bridge Trust undertook would link to
its vision for London to be a city where all individuals and
communities can thrive, especially those experiencing disadvantage
and marginalisation.

She added that the Trust would be working to
ensure the best use of its other resources, alongside its monetary
contributions, to ensure funds were spent as effectively as
possible. These would include the links it had to civil society,
other funders and the wider funding ecology, and the expertise of
its trustee, the City of London Corporation with its links to
local, regional and national Government and the private
sector.

Through this strategy, the Trust intended to
consider the ways in which it could make the most positive impact
on reducing inequality and creating cohesive communities, whilst
also determining its role in improving the success and resilience
of London’s civil society.

Resolved– That The City Bridge Trust’s funding
strategy for 2018-23, “Bridging Divides”, as set out at
Appendix A to the report, be approved.

That
the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of
business below on the grounds that they involve the likely
disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 and 7
of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act,
1972.

Resolved–That the public be
excluded from the meeting for the following items of business below
on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt
information as defined in Paragraphs 3 and 7 of Part 1 of Schedule
12A of the Local Government Act, 1972.